John Steenhuisen Pressuring ANC to Align With Ukraine Following His Fact Finding Trip to the War Torn Country
- The DA leader John Steenhuisen said the South African government needs to align itself with Ukraine in the Russian war
- Steenhuisen returned to Cape Town from his fact-finding mission in the war-torn country and addressed South Africans
- He added that it was “deeply immoral” that the government has chosen to remain neutral with regards to the war
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CAPE TOWN - Leader of the Democratic Alliance John Steenhuisen plans to insist that South Africa aligns itself with Ukraine despite its neutral stance on the Russian war in the country. He returned to Cape Town from his fact-finding mission in the war-torn country and said the government can no longer sit on the fence when there is a war ravaging.
Steenhuisen said he visited the country to witness the destruction first-hand. He added that it was important for him to represent South Africa to Ukrainians because no one else was doing so.
Source: UGC
Addressing South Africans on Monday 9 May, he said he spoke to Ukrainians and was amazed by the unity they showed amid the war.
"But I want to implore you not to do that. If I learnt one thing on my visit to Ukraine, it is that this war will reach into every corner of the globe, and it will affect the lives of the poorest of the poor."
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The DA leader also made calls for President Cyril Ramaphosa to condemn the war and Russia, according to TimesLIVE.
"I pledged the support of SA to their cause, and I vowed that we would not stop putting pressure on our government to change its stance on this war, to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine, to call on Vladimir Putin to withdraw his army," Steenhuisen said.
He said that it was “deeply immoral” that the government has chosen to remain neutral. Steenhuisen said the effects of the war have already been felt throughout South Africa and said that there will also be “great suffering” for citizens, according to Eyewitness News.
South Africans divided
Social media users have had mixed reactions to Steenhuisen’s visit to the country:
@CraigBBB1 said:
“The biggest problem is food. Steenhuisen is correct a national response is critical.”
@Nelsonmeridian1 wrote:
“Thanks for representing us in that country. The statements you made teach us that we must start enforcing farmers to work extra harder for our food security and make land available to farm,” he said.
@hafeiloda posted:
“While SA is burning the DA leader is playing saviour of the world.”
@Curious6263 added:
“We have more people dying in SA daily than in war-torn Ukraine yet here you are more concerned and wasting money travelling there than you are about SA. Shocking. The DA is clueless about these things good at back-office work,” he added.
DA Leader John Steenhuisen slammed for fact-finding trip to Ukraine amid Russia's invasion
In a related topic, Briefly News also reported Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhusien has raised a few eyebrows with his recent expedition to Ukraine, where he will be spending six days in the war-torn country.
Steenhuisen's mission will include paying a visit to various parts of Ukraine to assess the damage caused by Russian troops as well as engaging with Ukrainian leaders from the different cities.
“We owe it to the people of Ukraine to tell the unfiltered truth about what is taking place here so the world can stand united in bringing this injustice to an end," says Steenhuisen.
Source: Briefly News
